I'll Dance With You
by U.Ta.Ne
Summary: The Last Dance is about to come and Mikan hasn't found a partner yet! But not until Natsume enters the scene! natsumikan hotaruka pairings...COMPLETE AT LAST!
1. A Day In Central Town

By: U.Ta.Ne

My friend and I made this fic together, but she wrote most parts of the fic. We also share the same account. :D:D

Disclaimers: We do not own Gakuen Alice. If we did, we would have had

Hotaru kiss Ruka already (since Natsume already did that to

Mikan)…

A/N: Everyone in this story is a year older than in the manga.

**Introduction**

2 more days before the Last Dance

Everyone was talking about it; what they're going to wear, or who their partners will be, etc.

Everyone also found their own partners. Well, not exactly _everyone_, you're forgetting someone else.

Yup, Sakura Mikan.

We all know that Mikan is being liked by the all-so-famous kuro neko, Hyuuga Natsume, who never had the guts to confess nor to offer his hand to Mikan for the Last Dance.

Everyday, every night, he couldn't remove nor erase Mikan's face in his head. He just couldn't stop thinking of her, even though he knows she's too innocent to notice, and that his best friend has also developed feelings for her.

Chapter 1:

Mikan was on her way to meet her best friend, Hotaru, who was currently selling Ruka's photos in Central Town. On her way, she bumped onto Natsume, who was with Ruka.

Mikan and Natsume fell on the floor. Ruka stretched his hands out to both of them.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Ruka said, slightly blushing.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Thanks!" Mikan replied, taking his hand.

Natsume stood up and looked at them with the corner of his eyes. He tried to hide it: the envy he feels for his own friend.

Hotaru, then, approached them, holding the money _and_ the pictures.

Once Ruka saw this, he ran after her, leaving his best friend behind.

"They ran off together again," Mikan said, with a sweatdrop.

"…"

Then Mikan turned to Natsume and said, "Hey, why don't we go around for a bit? You know, just to wait for them…"

"Tch. Why would I do that, strawberries?" he replied.

At this, Mikan was about to shout at him, but instead, grabbed his hand.

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" she said.

Meanwhile…

"OI IMAI!! GIVE THOSE BACK!" Ruka shouted at Hotaru, who was riding her…duck scooter (hehe).

Hotaru just looked at him for a second, and then went off faster.

While the two were on with their usual chase, Natsume and Mikan were walking around.

After some minutes of strolling, Mikan stopped.

"I'm tired…why don't we rest a little?" Mikan said, pulling Natsume to a nearby bench with her.

Strangely, she didn't let go of his hand. She just held it, but he didn't budge. He didn't remove his hand from her touch.

"Ne, Natsume, tell me…who's gonna be your partner to the Last Dance? Have you found anyone yet?" Mikan said, pulling her head closer to his.

"…" Natsume just didn't want to ask her to be his partner, since he knew his best friend liked her too.

"Natsume?" Mikan said.

Natsume just ignored her.

"NATSUME? DO YOU HEAR ME?" Mikan shouted to his ear.

"Shut up, will ya!?"

"Ugh! Fine!" Mikan let go of his hand then went off by herself.

'_Ooh, that guy…he just never listens..!'_, Mikan thought to herself.

Natsume was left alone on the bench. He couldn't stop thinking about her.

'_Her hand felt so warm…'_ he thought. '_Sorry, Ruka…'_

A/N: Dear readers, sorry if the chapter was kinda short, so my friend and I had to put it with the introduction…Anyways, pls. review!


	2. A Special Night

Chapter 2: **A Special Night**

(A/N: It was about…10pm here…)

Than night, Ruka was seen lying down on the elementary dorm's roof, looking at the moon.

Both Natsume and Ruka knew that a certain brunette was liked by each other. He was thinking about what would happen if he told her already…

Then a purple-eyed girl in her uniform saw him there, so went up to him.

"Hey, why are you here?" Hotaru asked.

Ruka was started by her voice, and was a little surprised to know someone saw him there. But, even so, he answered.

"I should be the one asking you that."

"Anyway, where's Natsume?" Hotaru said, sitting down beside him.

"Busy, I think…"

They both stared at the moon for a while. Then Hotaru broke the silence.

"Thinking about her again, huh?"

"Wh-what are you saying..!?" Ruka said, slightly blushing.

"I'm talking about Mikan, baka."

"I know that…"

"Why not just confess to her?"

There was short silence.

"Nat--" Hotaru cut his words.

" 'Natsume likes her.' Yes, I know that."

"Demo…" Ruka said, feeling a little nervous.

"Baka, you're just a plain coward, aren't you? The Last Dance is about to come."

"Demo…Sakura likes him better…Unlike me, Natsume is able to make her feel better, away from her problems…"

"You're one pathetic idiot, you know? Once you tell her how you feel, she'll just make her own choice, and it wouldn't be too hard keeping everything you feel inside anymore."

Ruka didn't react from what she had said.

They stared at each other for a while, until Hotaru was looking at the moon.

"You know, I like the moon…" she smiled a small and rare smile not likely for many to see, but Ruka saw it.

"It's just so bright…and amazing…"

"No wonder you admire such things." Ruka said, giggling a little.

Hotaru then stood up.

"I'm going now, it's getting late."

"Wait--"

Ruka suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"…just tell me…why you're here…"

Unlikely for Hotaru to say, but even so, she whispered,

"…because I'm concerned…" she said with her head bowed down, her bangs covering her eyes.

She thought it had been a long time since she said something like that, but never yet to a boy.

She whispered it soft, but Ruka still heard it.

His eyes grew wide. He was startled with what the girl next to him just said.

"Imai, you…" he whispered, clearly seeing the shock in his voice.

"So you heard me." she said, turning to his direction.

"Go to bed now, it's late. You might not even wake early tomorrow." she added.

Hotaru then got down and went to her room, leaving Ruka alone there.

Ruka was really shocked with what she just said.

He recalled other things Hotaru told him for his own happiness, even though she was having a lot of fun blackmailing him.

After a while, he noticed he was blushing over some blackmailer whom he never noticed all the while.

'_Darn, Ruka, don't tell me..!'_ he thought to himself.

Then he went down and went straight to his room.

After changing, he went to bed.

He couldn't sleep, he was thinking too much about what the girl, who has always blackmailed him, had said.

A/N: Hehe, so what'dya think? Sorry if the chapter's kinda short, compared to other fics. Anyways, on to the next chapter! (And don't forget to review!)


	3. Natsume's Partner partI

Chapter 3: **Natsume's Partner partI**

Next day

1 more day before the Last Dance

Hotaru was in her stall/booth again in the festival when she Mikan's voice echoing in the distance.

"HOTARUUU!!!!!!!!!!" Mikan said as she reached for her best friend.

BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!

Hotaru launched several shots at Mikan's face with her baka-gun out of nowhere.

"Owww!! What was that for!?" Mikan said.

"Don't interrupt me when I'm busy, baka. I need to do something _really important_ so stop bothering me. I'm not always free." Hotaru replied coldly to her.

"So…can I come back later..?" Mikan asked.

Hotaru looked at her sideways but didn't reply.

Mikan frowned at her and said, "Fine then! I'll come back later!".

She turned and found Natsume and Ruka.

"Oh, hi, Ruka-pyon!" Mikan greeted cheerfully.

"Hi…" Ruka said plainly.

Upon hearing Ruka's name, Hotaru turned to their direction to see if he's really there. Then they (Hotaru and Ruka) looked at each other eye to eye.

"Uhm…ohaiyo, Imai…" Ruka said, blusing.

"…" Hotaru didn't say anything.

Then Mikan looked at Natsume and asked, "What's going on? Did we miss anything?"

"Tch. How should I know?"

"Oh yeah, they weren't with us last night." (No dirty thoughts, people!!)

"What do you want anyway? I need to do something important here, so if you want something, say it or leave." Hotaru reminded them.

"Fine, fine, we're going…" Mikan said.

Suddenly, Iinchou appeared out of nowhere and said, "Hey you guys, could you help us prepare for the dance?"

"Oh sure! C'mon!" Mikan said as she grabbed Natsume's arm.

"Chotto matte!" he said, but she didn't pay attention to him.

"Uh…I'll be going now…" Ruka said, quite nervous.

"Hey, Ruka…" Hotaru asked.

"Uh…what?"

"I…oh forget it."

"What is it?"

"I said forget it.

And with that, Hotaru resumed her work while Ruka went off.

Meanwhile, Mikan and Natsume were helping with the decorations for the Last Dance, which will be held tomorrow night.

While preparing the tables, Mikan asked Natsume.

"Hey Natsume, I know I said this before, but WHO is your partner?"

"…"

Mikan pleaded and pleaded Natsume to tell her who his partner is, until he finally gave in.

"Fine! Just stop talking!" he said.

Mikan smiled. _'I'm gonna know who Natsume's dance partner is!'_

"It's…" he said.

"It's..?" she repeated.

"It's…"

"IT'S…?"

A/N: chotto matte: wait a sec!

Anyways, pls. review!


	4. Natsume's Partner partII

Chapter 4: **Natsume's Partner partII**

"…you…" he whispered. '_Sorry, Ruka, sorry…'_

"Huh..?"

She was so shocked. Natsume's partner--HER!?

"Uh…I…" she blushed. "You're…kidding…r-right?"

Natsume stared at her and said, "You don't have to if you don't want to. It's your choice." Then he went off to the preparations.

Mikan was left alone at the tables. She thought about what he just said to her.

**Mikan's POV**

"_It's…"_

"_IT'S..?"_

'Wow, I'm actually going to find out who his partner is! But who knows, he might say…

"…_you…"_

W-WHAT!? He just…HE JUST...!!

"_Huh..?"_

B-but why did he chose…me? Of all the people…

"_Uh…I…You're kidding…r-right?"_

"_You don't have to if you don't want to. It's your choice."_

Naze? Naze…watashi no kokoro… It's beating so fast...!

**Normal POV**

Meanwhile, Ruka was on his way to help in the preparations for the dance, but can't help thinking about what Hotaru was about to say.

'_What was she about to say to me?'_

He can't help but think of her.

On the way, he saw Natsume, so he stopped and told him that they go to a quiet place to talk.

"So what happened with you and Mikan?" Ruka asked.

"…Nothing…"

'_Don't hide it, something happened…'_

"Come on, what?" Ruka said, suspecting something.

"Nothing…"

"Really?"

"I said nothing!" Natsume said, irritated.

"Tell me, you already asked _her_ to be your Last Dance, right?"

"…How did you know..!?"

"I knew it…" Ruka said, softening his voice.

"Sorry—"

"Congratulations!" Ruka said, smiling. _'At least he already found a partner.'_

"Huh..?"

"You finally asked her."

Then Natsume looked at Ruka. He wondered why Ruka was happy for him.

"Hey Ruka…have you asked anyone yet..?"

"Asked…someone yet..?

"For the dance…"

'_I see…maybe he thought I asked Sakura to be my Last Dance…"_Ruka thought.

"Well?" Natsume repeated.

"No, not yet."

'_But the truth is, I can't ask Imai to be my Last Dance. She might not accept it…'_ Ruka thought. _'I'd want that to happen, but I just…can't.'_

Both friends were thinking what would happen if the girls they liked would accept their invitation. It went on for a few minutes then Natsume broke the silence.

"Oi, Ruka,"

"…What?"

"…if you want to ask her out, ask her. She's not going to be there always, you know." He told Ruka.

And he went off to continue helping the others prepare for the dance. Ruka was left alone.

"I know that…I just don't… know…how to tell her…I'm not that brave, after all…" he told himself.

Then he followed Natsume to help the others.

A/N: Really sorry if my chapters are short…Anyway, there might be more

chapters to come…


	5. Secrets Halfrevealed

Chapter 5: **Secrets—Half-Revealed**

That night, Mikan stayed at Hotaru's room. She wanted to ask her lots of questions concerning…koi.

"Nee, Hotaru…have you ever been in love w/ someone before?" Mikan asked her best friend.

Hotaru stopped working on her broken alarm clock and looked at Mikan.

"And why would you ask me that? Of all the people you can ask, you chose me to answer such a stupid question…"

She returned fixing the clock, pretending not to be bothered by Mikan's question, though she REALLY was bothered. Because when her friend asked that question, Ruka's face suddenly entered her mind.

Meanwhile, Mikan was disappointed at Hotaru's answer. So she decided to ask something else.

"Nee, Hotaru…Did someone already asked you to be his partner for the Last Dance? I mean, it's tomorrow evening already…"

As she asked this question, she couldn't help but think about what Natsume's answer to the same question she just asked her best friend.

'_It's…you…'_

That same sentence kept on popping up in her head. She just can't seem to remove it from her head.

"Hotaru...still there?"

It seems Hotaru was still working on her clock, but she still replied to Mikan, saying, "No, no one has asked me yet. What about you?"

"I…um…well, I…"

Mikan really can't remove what Natsume said to her from her head. It kept on echoing inside her brain.

'_It's…you…'_

"Oh, Natsume…I…"she softly whispered to herself, but Hotaru still heard her.

So he asked you out, huh?" she said to Mikan.

Mikan was shocked. Hotaru heard. So to cover up, she said, "It's not him! Really! Trust me!"

Hotaru turned to her and looked at her, eye to eye.

"You can't lie, you know. The dance's tomorrow, so you can go without a partner, or be his partner. You only have two choices and less than a day to decide."

Mikan was quite surprised at what came out of her best friend's mouth. So she countered the comment.

"So who's your partner, huh? Last time, you were my partner, right?"

"Right, but I have other plans this time around so last year's events won't happen this time, get that?"

Mikan frowned at her and went to the door. She gave Hotaru (who wasn't looking back) one more nasty look.

"Hotaru, I really can't understand you!" she went out Hotaru's room, slamming the door.

Hotaru was really troubled now. Ruka hasn't asked her yet.

"So I'll just have to ask him or wait until tomorrow," she said. She went out of her room and opened the window.

The full moon, shining a wonderful golden shade, was beautiful along with the starry sky. It would be really perfect if this also appeared tomorrow evening at the Last Dance. It would be nice too, if it would still be a full moon tomorrow.

"Ruka…when will you tell me the truth?" she said to herself while looking out the starry sky. She gave a sigh, closed the window, the lights and went to bed.

"I'll just have to wait tomorrow then," were her last words for the day.

A/NWEEEE!!!! Was it okay? I wasted my research time typing this…I also hid this from my parents since I'm only supposed to be researching…..hehehehehe, I'm so naughty….. Anyway, RxR!


	6. I'll be Your Partner

Chapter 6:** I'll be Your Partner**

Next Day: LAST DANCE!!

Finally. The Last Dance would be happening later that night.

As Mikan and Natsume(again) went to help for the preparations(again), Mikan pulled Natsume aside for a private talk.

"Uh…Natsume..?" Mikan said, uneasily blushing. "I w-wan-wanted t-to ask you s-something…since yesterday…"

"…"

"I w-wanted…to know..w-why you chose m-me to be y-your L-L-Last D-Da-Dance…"

"I told you, it's your choice if you want to or not…" he replied.

"J-just…t-t-tell m-me…" Mikan said, blushing hard. She can't directly say what she wanted to.

"It's because you don't have a partner yet, and I don't too…" he lied. That was part of the real reason (which is…you know already).

Mikan looked at him. She was completely confused about everything.

"Uh…r-real-really..?"

"Yeah, so stop bugging me, okay?" he said, trying to go back to the preparations.

Just the, Mikan grabbed Natsume's arm. He struggled, but she didn't let go. The she looked at him blushing, yet smiling.

"Okay. Sure, I'll be your partner, Natsume!" she smiled.

Natsume quickly moved away from her. He hid his face from hers.

"Now can I go?"

"Ah, sure!"

Natsume went to the Awarding Ceremony followed by Mikan.

Meanwhile…

Hotaru and Ruka were already at the ceremony, waiting for the others. They were a little far from each other, but they still found some gaps among the students in which they can look at each other.

But…they didn't want to.

Everytime they could look at each other, one of them looks while the other ignores it.

After the ceremony, Ruka took his one shot He gathered up all the strength he has and finally asked Hotaru the one and only question.

"Uh…Imai…"

Hotaru turned to him. She was also thinking of the same thing Ruka was thinking.

"Yeah?"

"I…I w-wanted t-t-to ask…"

Even though he got all his strength concentrated on asking Hotaru to be his Last Dance, it seems he still couldn't do it. Her beautiful purple eyes were on him and that pressured him more.

'_I have to do it, this is my only chance right now!' _he thought to himself.

"Imai, wouldyoubemyLastDance?" he said real fast, blushing out-of-control.

A few seconds passed and Hotaru smiled the same way when they were talking on the dorm roof.

"So you finally asked me out. And you did it just in time."

Ruka was quite surprised that she said "just in time". He asked her by what she meant.

"I mean that I thought you'd never ask me. I thought that someone already asked you or you asked someone else." Hotaru said. "I thought maybe you forgot."

"Really? You thought that..?"

"Yes, I did." Then she turned and was about to leave when he stopped her.

"What now?" she asked.

"…You haven't…answered me yet…"

"Isn't it obvious? I accepted your invitation, right? So just see me later."

"Oh…one more thing…"

Hotaru was a little annoyed at him._'What does he want now?'_

"Um…yesterday in Central Town…you wanted to ask me something. What was it?" Ruka said.

Hotaru stared at him for a while then said, "I'll tell you later." Then left.

Ruka was alone now. He walked to the changing rooms, alone but happy.

He asked her out, and she accepted. That was already enough (even too much) to make him happy.

A/N: WEEEE!!!! I did this during science class…even when the teacher saw me…I wasn't busted!ehehhehehehehehhehe….aaaaaaaanyyywaaaay….pls read and review! And you could give suggestions :D


	7. A Talk with My Dance Partner

Chapter 7:** A Talk with My Dance Partner**

**Ruka's POV**

'_Okay…here I go…'_

"_Imai, wouldyoubemyLastDance?"_

Man…I'm so pathetic…

"_So you finally asked me out. And you did it just in time."_

'_Just in time..? What does she mean?'_

"_What do you mean, 'just in time' ?"_

"_I mean that I thought you'd never ask me. I thought that someone already asked you or you asked someone else. I thought maybe you forgot."_

Wow…is that really true..? I'll ask her again…

"_Really? You thought that..?"_

"_Yes, I did." _

Wow…She really was thinking about me…

**Normal POV**

It was already time to start the Last Dance. They already shot the arrow of fire that lights up the big…thingy (Oo) but everyone's super excited about the Dance.

Mikan and Hotaru were already there, and they were just waiting for their partners to come. While waiting, Mikan and Hotaru talked for a while.

"So…who asked you then, ne, Hotaru?" Mikan asked playfully.

Hotaru looked at her sideways then replied, "You'll find out later."

They talked for awhile, until several fangirls suddenly screamed a few meters away from them.

"Isn't that Hyuuga Natsume?" one of them said.

"Ooh! I wonder who is partner is!" another said.

"How about Ruka?" said a third girl.

"Oh yeah…I forgot…" blurted out a fourth girl.

"Hey you! Don't you dare go a step closer!" said a girl whose hair was short and permed. Yes, it's the brat, Sumire.

"Huh?" the others said.

"Yeah! All of you! Get out of my way!" Sumire said, threatening the other girls by using her Alice.

"Good…now that they're out of my way," she said, turning to Ruka and Natsume. "Will you dance with me?"

"Sorry, but we have partners." Ruka said.

Strike one for Sumire.

"Now get out of our way, Permy." Natsume said.

Strike two for Sumire.

'_Well, at least I have one more chance.'_ Sumire thought.

"So, who're your partners?" she asked.

"Them." Ruka and Natsume said, pointing at Mikan and Hotaru.

Aaaaaaaaand…she's out.

But Sumire wasn't the only one shocked. Everyone heard and witnessed Natsume, the genius of the elementary division, and Ruka, his best friend, admit that their partners were Mikan, the innocent idiot, and Hotaru, her cold-hearted best friend.

"Well, are we going or not?" Natsume asked Mikan.

"Let's go." Hotaru said, grabbing Ruka's arm.

People watched as Natsume and Mikan went off to the drinks while Hotaru drags Ruka to the cakes.

After the people's attention slowly turned away from them, Mikan asked Natsume something she really wanted to know about him.

"Ne, Natsume…do you…like somebody?"

"…"

"Natsume?"

"Just why would you want to know?"

"Well, because…"

The truth is, Mikan didn't know why she wanted to know whether Natsume likes someone else or not. All she knew was that she REALLY wants to know.

"Nothing. Just curious…" she said.

"Tch. You're wasting my time."

The two of them watched the others dance with their partners. Then Mikan thought that the whole point of having a partner for the Last Dance was to dance with them. She has a partner, so not dancing with her partner in the Last Dance would be meaningless.

"Do you want to dance, Natsume?"

"Huh?"

He was a little shocked. She asked him to dance?

"It's going to be useless even if we attend but _not_ dance, right? You are my partner…and you were the one who asked me to be your partner, after all…" she told him.

Natsume was silent. What Mikan said IS true. He's her Last Dance but they not dancing would just be a waste of his effort and time. But, he can't seem to say "yes" to her.

Then suddenly Mikan grabbed his hand and said, "C'mon! Let's dance!". Then she smiled.

Meanwhile…

Hotaru and Ruka were sitting on a table, Hotaru eating some cake while Ruka silently watching her.

"Ne, Imai…" he started.

Hotaru didn't look up, but just replied, "What?".

"You told me that you would tell—"

"The question I wanted to ask you before in Central Town? I thought that you would forget, but now that it's been brought up, I guess I'll have to tell you already."

"Uh…well, yeah, that's it," he replied.

The two of them stared at each other for a few minutes. Then Hotaru started to talk.

"I wanted to ask whether you've gotten over Mikan already," she said. "It's because you didn't blush when you talked to her like you usually do."

Ruka's eyes grew wide. Hotaru, who never fell in love with someone, would ask something like that?

"Well? I told you already, so now you have to answer me," she reminded.

"I…well…yeah, I did…"

"So that means you like someone else now, right?"

"Yeah…sort of, I'm kinda confused myself…"

"So who is it?"

"I…"

Ruka was a little tongue-tied. Hotaru wants to know the person who he really likes. But, should he keep it a secret, or tell her the truth?

"I'll tell you later, somewhere…private," he replied.

"I see."

Hotaru stood up and went to get more food.

Ruka was making a decision, and made a final one.

He's telling her how he really feels for her.

A/N: So…how was it..? At least the chapter's gotten longer…Well, pls. review:D


	8. The Confession

**Chapter 8: The Confession**

After eating some…cakes/crabs, Hotaru pulled Ruka with her.

"Uhh…where are we going..?" Ruka asked.

"To dance, baka. This _is_ the Last Dance, after all."

"…ohh…"

After awhile, the soft sound of music began to play as the students danced with the rhythm.

While Hotaru and Ruka were dancing, they saw Mikan forcing Natsume to dance with her.

"Natsume…please!" Mikan said with wide puppy eyes. Still, Natsume just ignores her. But after some time, Natsume stood up (from his chair, he was seated a while ago…) and went to the dance floor.

"You're gonna dance or not?" Natsume said, turning his head to her direction.

"So you finally agreed?" Mikan playfully and happily said while walking towards him.

"Tch…"

Natsume was feeling a little doubtful about dancing with this little idiot. He has never danced with a girl before during the Last Dance yet.

Then they started to dance.

Natsume put his hand on Mikan's, while the other (hand) held her waist.

Mikan was surprised, yet happy that someone finally asked her to be his/her Last Dance.

Meanwhile, Ruka and Hotaru were watching the two dance when Hotaru suddenly dragged Ruka with her to the fountain (let's just imagine there's one…). But Natsume and Mikan noticed both of them go somewhere else, so they decided to sneak on them…

'_I wonder where they're going…'_, Mikan thought. Both of them followed until they saw their best friends talking, so they watched by the bushes.

Hotaru sat down by the fountain edge with Ruka (who was standing), wondering why she dragged him there.

"Uhh…Imai…why are we here..?" Ruka asked.

"You told me you'll tell me the one you liked in some private place." Hotaru replied.

"Umm…yeah…" Ruka nervously said._ 'Of all the place! Wait—why does she even want to know..?'_

"So, who is it?"

"It's…"

Ruka can't really tell her that he really likes her. '_You can do it, Ruka! This is your only chance!'_, he thought to himself.

Meanwhile…

"I wonder what they're talking about…" Mikan said. "Ne, Nat--" Natsume quickly covered her mouth.

"Don't be too loud, baka! They might hear us!" Natsume scolded, but making sure no one sees or hears them there. Mikan was struggling for air, but he held her tight.

"It's…" Ruka said, blushing real hard this time

'_You can do it, Ruka!'_, Natsume thought.

"IT'S…" _'C'mon, Ruka, say it! You've already asked her to be you Last Dance!'_, Ruka nervously thought.

"IT'S YOU!", Ruka said with all his strength piled up. What he just said made his sit on the fountain edge beside Hotaru, looking helpless, as if he couldn't stand up ever again.

Hotaru felt the slightest shock on her nerves. But this time, she really showed Ruka the sweet, rare smile that made Ruka like her that much, completely different from her cold-hearted kind of personality.

Ruka was shocked, REALLY shocked, but the level of his happiness for seeing Hotaru smile so sweetly at what he just said would be incomparable. Just seeing her smile made Ruka's face all red, completely red.

Natsume smiled a little. He then let go of Mikan so she could at least breathe in some air. Mikan was breathing fast, like some animal started chasing her while she tries to run away from it (…).

"Wow! Ruka-pyon finally admitted his true feelings! But I never thought that he'd confess to Hotaru…" Mikan whispered.

"Yeah…" Natsume replied.

Back to the other couple…

Hotaru was still smiling at Ruka when she said,

"Thanks for telling the truth,_ Ruka-kun._ Because you told your secret, I'll tell you mine…"

"WHAT SECRET???" Mikan said.

"Shut up if you want to hear it!" Natsume replied.

"But Hotaru told me all her secrets already! Why is she keeping this one from me?"

"Shut up and just listen!"

"You know, I have feelings for someone, too…" Hotaru told Ruka.

Upon hearing this, Ruka was a little disappointed and replied with a small "Oh…okay, sure…".

He also thought, '_Imai likes someone?'_

Both of them were quiet until Ruka asked, "Who is it?"

Hotaru turned to him (she turned her back a while ago) and replied in a small, soft voice, "It's the one person who's sitting in front of me at this very moment."

All was silent. All you could probably hear the people dancing and the music.

"R-R-Really..?" Ruka asked, trembling with shock.

"Now I say what's only true, right?"

"Uh…yeah, I guess so…"

In the bushes, Mikan was like O.o .

Ruka likes Hotaru. Hotaru likes him back. They both like each other. And they kept it from their own best friends.

"No way! How could she do this!?" Mikan complained.

Natsume quickly covered her mouth with his hand and threatened herby saying, "Talk and I burn your hair."

After a little argument, they resumed watching Hotaru and Ruka, who were watching the fireflies.

"Only a few more minutes till they aanounce the partners for the Last Dance…" Hotaru said after a while.

"Yeah…" Ruka replied. "You're going to say your partner for the dance on stage like the others…right?"

"I suppose…"

A few moments of silence passed. Then after a while, Hotaru said something.

"Hey, Ruka-kun…"

"Huh?"

"Thanks…for tonight, I mean. You told me how you felt about me. Thanks a lot." Then she smiled at him.

"Imai…" he said.

"Hm?"

"Ummm…_aishiteru na…_" he whispered, blushing tomato red.

"I know…I do too…" she replied.

The two of them looked at each other, smiling. Both of them were happy to be with each other. Then, both of them slowly moved closer and closer to each other. Ruka's hand was already touching the chin of Hotaru, while she was holding his other hand really tight. Her other hand was tugging his sleeve.

And they kissed.

They were sitting on the edge of the fountain. Fireworks suddenly appeared in the clear night sky. There was a beautiful full moon shining above them, accompanied by a wonderful shower of shooting stars.

A/N: aishiteru na: "I love you _very much."_

Eh…its so hard to write the sentence before the last paragraph…anyway, read and review…give some suggestions since our brains aren't functioning well…we don't know what to do so help us…we just might put YOU in the credits…hehehehe…(ahem)


	9. A Memorable Dance

A/N: Dear people…please WAIT for the natsumikan parts on following chapters. Thank you.

Chapter 9: **A Memorable Dance**

Mikan and Natsume were now like –O.O- . Even Natsume didn't hide his shock.

"Uhh…Natsume…I think we have to…go now…" Mikan said, pulling Natsume with her. Then they went to a nearby tree to rest, having their two best friends left there. (PS--Hotaru and Ruka already broke the kiss by then…)

"Ne Natsume…besides what happened just now…have you ever encountered a time when your best friend hid something special from you..?"

"…no, just now." Natsume replied.

"Oh…same here…"

"…"

"You, have you ever hid something from your best friend?" Mikan added.

"And just why do you ask me those questions?"

"Uhh…n-nothing…" said Mikan, who can't really think of a useful reason for asking such questions.

"You know, I never thought Hotaru would be falling for Ruka-pyon, and so will he…" she added.

"…" Natsume can't think of or doesn't have an answer.

Then Mikan sat down on the grass, leaning her back on the tree.

"Natsume, you wanna sit?" Mikan said, tapping the grass beside her.

Yes, Natsume did sit beside her. Mikan smiled.

After a while, Mikan started to speak her thoughts out. She and Natsume were talking when Iinchou suddenly appeared of nowhere (again) and told them that the dance is going to start in any minute.

"Oh…okay, we'll be there." Mikan said as Iinchou ran off.

"The dance's going to start any minute now," she added. "So Natsume, you're gonna tell who you're dance partner is, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Who is it? Me…or…someone else? Did you want to change your partner? I kinda feel sorry for your fans…"

"…"

"Natsume?"

"Whatever. Let's go." He stood up and went to the party.

"Natsume…" Mikan whispered.

Natsume went to the dance floor, followed by Mikan.

Almost all the students were there, including Hotaru and Ruka.

The announcement of partners had already begun.

Once both Natsume and Mikan entered, they already saw Hotaru announcing her partner.

"My partner is Ruka." Hotaru coldly said, not even minding his fangirls.

"WHAT!?" Sumire shouted. Fangirls echoed. A little envy though, because they will be attacked by Hotaru's baka-_cannon_ if they don't zip their mouths up.

Hotaru then went down and approached a blushing Ruka. Natsume was next in line. After some time, he went up stage.

Announcer guy says, "So, Natsume-kun, who's your partner tonight? She must be lucky alright!" in a joyful manner.

Natsume replies, "Her." with a period, directly and coldly said while pointing at _the_ idiotic brunette.

"WHAAAAT!?!?" Sumire shouts again. Fangirls echoed again. Even Announcer guy, Natsume's friends and the other boy were shocked. Such an idiot paired up with a genius!? were the thoughts of many.

"Yeah, so what?" Natsume glared them a sharp, icy glare.

Silence, as usual.

Then Natsume got down from the stage, making sure no fangirl goes crying, begging or complaining about it in front of him. But Ruka confronted him and whispered, Natsume, did you already confess to h—"

Natsume cut him off by saying, "No, not yet." Then he went off to Mikan. Announcements continue.

Fast forward

After everyone was finished announcing their partners, music started to play as each student dances with his/her partner. Everyone was kind of relaxed, everyone except Mikan (and the fangirls), that is.

All eyes were on two dancing couples: Natsume with Mikan _and_ Hotaru with Ruka.

Some of the boys were kinda envious of Natsume and Ruka since their partners gave them (Natsume and Ruka) about 52 percent of attention, while 48 percent was given to those poor boys.

People watched with envy as the two couples danced so sweetly to the music. Sumire was glaring at Mikan, like she was going to torture and kill Mikan on the dance floor itself and claim Natsume as her partner, but she never dared to do that to Hotaru, who was currently dancing with Ruka who was blushing out of control (again). Hotaru even had a "Touch-my-dance-partner-and-I'll-shoot-you-with-my-baka-gun-and-cannon-lots-of-times" look on her face.

Meanwhile, Mikan was confused about this. There were many other suitable candidates out there, but Natsume chose her. Sure, she agreed to be his dance partner, but she never knew it was for the Last Dance. She thought Natsume asked her to be his dance partner for an ordinary dance.

She was thinking about this a lot, until Natsume asked her, "What's wrong?"

Mikan was kind of shocked when he asked this. She quickly thought,_ 'Is he concerned or something..?'_ then replied to him, saying, "Nothing. Why, you concerned?"

"Tch. Why would I be?"

"Then why'd you ask.."

Natsume was speechless. "…Just answer me, will ya?"

Mikan looked sideways and blushed. "Uhh…it was nothing…"

And there they were, dancing with everyone glaring at Mikan. Including Sumire, of course.

They danced and danced until the night was over.

A/N: …So, how was it..? Please wait for the natsumikan parts in the next chapters to follow. Anyway, thanks for reading! Pls. review :D.


	10. A Sweet Little Day

Chapter 10: **A Sweet**

Next day

It was a cold, cloudy day when suddenly—

"Ohaiyo, minna!" Mikan shouted energetically once she entered the room.

Everyone looked at her. Everyone _glared_ at her (except Hotaru, of course…).

"…What?" Mikan asked, looking a little bit confused.

"SAKURAA!!" Sumire shouted, as if she was gonna kill Mikan and bring her to hell.

"N-naze!? What did I do?" Mikan said, not even thinking about her and Natsume last night.

Suddenly, the door opened when two boys entered the room. Obviously, they were Natsume and Ruka.

Hotaru looked at Ruka straight to the eye. Of course, Ruka blushed. The first thing stuck in his mind was about what had happened to them last night.

Meanwhile, Mikan and Sumire were fighting. But once Mikan saw Natsume, she turned red. Natsume saw that, but he didn't mind.

Well, eh didn't make a move, but he _did _mind it. He stared at her for a while, then went with Ruka to their seats.

After a while, Narumi entered the room.

"Ohaiyo, minna!" the teacher greeted.

"Ohaiyo!" everyone replied.

"Okay, now that the Alice Festival is over, you know what's next, right?" Naru informed.

"Aaawwww!!" everyone shouted.

"It's time for your exams!"

"NOOOOOO!!!"

-After all the teachers told them what to do…-

"Aawww! Hotaru! Will you help me in studying?" Mikan pleaded.

Hotaru looked at her coldly and replied, "If you pay me 50 rabbits for each subject, then yes, I will."

"Aww!! Hotaru! You're so evil!" Mikan shouted.

Though it wasn't obvious, Hotaru frowned and pulled her Baka-gun out of nowhere and shot Mikan on the face.

"Don't be selfish, baka," Hotaru told the (quite) unconscious Mikan. "it's not just you who have problems in the tests, you know."

Hotaru pointed to the other students who were panicking the same way Mikan did.

Mikan suddenly regained consciousness. Hotaru was right. She was selfish for thinking only about herself.

While she was thinking about this, Hotaru stood up and said, "I'm going outside…" (outside the building)

Mikan tried to stop her but was unsuccessful due to Hotaru's baka-cannon.

"Don't follow me, baka." Hotaru said to her.

Hotaru was already out of the classroom when Ruka suddenly decided to go outside as well.

"Umm…Natsume, I'll have to go somewhere. See ya…" he said.

Ruka went out of the classroom. As he was walking (there were other students outside the classroom as well), someone softly called out, "Hey, Ruka-kun…"

He turned around to see Hotaru.

"I-Imai!? I thought you were—"

"Outside? In our classmates' minds, yes." she cut him off.

"B-But…what are you doing here!?"

"I'm planning on something, so don't interfere…"

"What plan?"

"You see, I'm planning on putting Natsume and Mikan together, even for just once." Hotaru replied.

"Wait—maybe you could be of help…" she added, forming an evil-looking (well, maybe not just evil-looking at all…) smirk on her face.

"Huh..? But…h-how?"

Hotaru explained to Ruka the "mechanics" on their plan.

O

"WHAT!?" Ruka shouted out.

"Yes. I'll sell your photos again if you don't do it."

"But I can't just…betray my best friend like that!"

"Okay then…" Hotaru took out the photos from her pocket and started walking.

"F-Fine! I'll…do it…"

"Good. Now we have to go before they see us. Hotaru said as they left.

Luckily, the bell rang as the students left, going the elementary dorm building.

Just in time, Mikan walked outside to see Hotaru when Natsume also went outside to look for Ruka.

Unfortunately, it started to rain.

While Mikan was panicking, looking for Hotaru, she wasn't looking on her way so she bumped onto Natsume. But before she could fall on the wet ground, Natsume already held her arm from falling.

Mikan's eyes widened in surprise.

'_Natsume!?'_ she thought as she blushed.

She stood straight and said, "Umm…thanks, Natsume…" still blushing.

"Next time be careful, little girl." He said, making Mikan blush even more.

The rain started to pour harder. They had no jackets or umbrellas. No person to ask for help, since everyone already went to the dormitories.

The two of them were just standing there, under the rain. They didn't even care that they were soaked wet.

Hiding in the bushes a few meters away, Hotaru and Ruka were watching. Ruka felt a little uneasy seeing the little camera in Hotaru's hands. Then he thought he'd be more disturbed the more he thought about the camera, so he redirected his attention to the couple under the rain.

"They're not doing anything…" Ruka commented.

"They're not _yet_ doing anything. So make them do something, baka." Hotaru answered.

"But what?"

"You think of that."

"Why me?"

Hotaru looked at him sideways. Then she smiled that mischievous grin she always had whenever she blackmails.

"You do it because, one – I only take their picture. Two – I had the plan in mind in the first place. Three – take a guess where these pictures will go to." she pointed at the pictures of Ruka. Then she smiled again.

Obviously, Ruka had no other choice than to obey her. So he thought of ways on how they could hook up Natsume and Mikan together.

Meanwhile, back to Mikan and Natsume's area…

"AAAH! I can't take it! Why'd Hotaru leave me!? Hotaru you're so me—" Mikan complained.

"Shut up, will ya!?" Natsume cut her words.

Mikan frowned and said, "Hmp. I never asked you to come along, you know."

"Tch. Why would I want to be with a stupid girl like you anyway?"

"Say that again!"

"Idiot!"

"Stupid!"

"Polka-dots!"

"Pervert!"

"Strawberries!"

"Grr…Natsume...!!" she turned her head and decided to ignore him. Natsume did the same.

A little while later, Mikan did some complaining again…

"My hair's really wet…" Mikan whispered.

"Hm?"

"Eeh…it's nothing…"

'_He heard me? Is he…concerned or something?'_ Mikan thought. _'But my heart's beating really fast again..!'_

"What's wrong?" Natsume asked.

Mikan pouted and said, "First, nobody wants to help me in the exams. Second, Hotaru left me here. Third, no one's here to help. Four, it's raining and we're wet."

Mikan complained and complained _and_ complained more in front of Natsume. Natsume had had enough of her mouth so to shut her up…

"Why can't anyone help—" (Mikan said this)

Natsume suddenly pulled her by the shoulder…

…And he kissed her. He kissed her under the pouring rain.

'_Natsume!?'_

Mikan's eyes widened in surprise and shock.

Natsume held Mikan's left pigtail with his left hand while the other held her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Mikan was really shocked. She didn't even think Natsume would ever do _that_.

Mikan slowly closed her eyes and, without her knowing what she was doing, she placed her hand behind his head and pulled him closer, even though she was blushing _hard_.

Now it was Hotaru and Ruka's to be –O.O- .

Both of them were silent until Ruka heard some faint clicks. He turned to see Hotaru taking pictures of the couple.

"I-Imai…w-what…a-a-are you…!?" Ruka said, being quite insecure.

Hotaru didn't look at him but replied, "Why, is this bad?" Ruka sweatdropped.

"Eh…I…Don't you think we should respect their privacy?"

"Why, did they even respect ours?"

Ruka sweatdropped more. "Y-you…mean…t-th-they s-s-saw…?"

"Yes, they did. Only a deaf person wouldn't hear that baka's sounds."

Ruka sweatdropped even more, accompanied with a VERY, VERY red face.

"But…d-don't you…" he said.

"Okay, that's enough pictures already. Now we can leave." Hotaru replied without the slightest trace of embarrassment nor regret. So the two left Mikan and Natsume alone.

After a time, Natsume broke the kiss. He then let go of Mikan as she did the same.

Now Mikan's face was all red, VERY red. She asked, "…W-Why did you…do th-that..?"

"Because you were too loud, baka." Natsume said without even caring about what they just did.

"…Sorry…" she said. Then she smiled.

"…but at least you're here with me to listen to my problems." Mikan said.

Natsume was kind of shocked. But, to Mikan's surprise, he drew her closer to him.

"Mikan…aishiteru na…"

"Arigato, Natsume…" she said as she hugged him back.

-OWARI-

A/N: So…that's the end of it…Don't worry, our dear readers, if you think that the story was a little…discontinued, or just not enough (para sa mga pinoy, "bitin")...sorry for the inconvenience...Anyway, pls. don't forget to review! Thanks for reading!


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